Introduction: When Shimano America partnered with Jackall for marketing
and distribution, not all that long ago, many wondered just what this meant for
both organizations in terms of product design and availability. Few could have predicted that the
two companies would integrate some
of their design capabilities so quickly. Combining not only the design
philosophies but the technologies available in their arsenal both Shimano and Jackall designers collaborated to bring the new Poison Adrena rods to life.

Jackall
Poison
Adrena
166M
Specifications

Material

Spiral X
Graphite

Length

6'6"

Line Wt.

8-16lb

Lure Wt.

3/16 - 3/4 oz

Pieces

one

Guides

9+tip Fuji SiC

Rear Handle Length

9.25" inches

Power Rating

Medium

Taper

Medium Fast

Rod Weight

3.9oz

Origin

Made in
China

MSRP

$399

Meet the Jackall Poison Adrena,
the product of the joining of Jackall and Shimano

Impressions:
The first thing you notice about the rod is the lack of a traditional EVA or
Cork reargrip, instead anglers will find a “Carbon Monocoque” butt section which
is designed to better balance out the entire rod while decreasing weight and
improving sensitivity. Weight is significantly reduced by eliminating the grip
material, glue and winding checks but in proper JDM style the butt is finished
with a badge identifying the Jackall brand.

The Adrena makes use of a
proprietary "Perfection" reel seat...

After you get
past the butt section you will notice a reel seat constructed out of CI4+
material, the very same carbon composite that Shimano uses in their newest
Chronarch and Stradic CI4+ models. By using this material Shimano is able to
help bring down the overall weight of the rods while providing an extremely
stable platform to lock their reels down. The rod blanks look familiar as they
leverage a variation of Shimano TC4 but they feature rolled carbon tape on both
the inside and outside of the blank to form a cross pattern, what the company is
calling a “Spiral X” blank.

...which is constructed out of
Shimano CI4 material, the same material found in Shimano's composite reels

The spiral X
blank construction is designed to create a light blank with thin walls that is
reinforced on both sides providing a balance of sensitivity and strength under
load. As you might expect the rod is finished with Fuji SiC guides.

The rod makes use of Fuji SiC
guides to handle anything from mono to superline

The overall rod
definitely has that JDM look and feel and I had to keep reminding myself that
this wasn’t a rod that we imported for an enthusiast article, but rather one we
were able to source at our local tackle shop. In fact we purchased this rod
directly from Hi’s Tackle Box in San Francisco along with one of the Company’s
new Expride rods for comparison.

This is a light rod, weighing in
only at 3.9oz.

Quality Ratings forJackall Poison Adrena 166M

Finish (1-5)

Grip (1-5)

Epoxy (1-5)

Blank (1-2)

Guides (1-2)

Total

Possible

Rating (= Tot/Pos *
10)

5

5

4

2

2

18

19

9.47

The front of the reel seat
encircles the winding check for a clean look